Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 17 - I Believe In A Thing Called Love

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

With Lex Luthor and Nyxly joining forces, the Super Friends must face their two greatest enemies together as the hunt for the Love Totem begins. Meanwhile, Alex tries to plan the perfect proposal to Kelly, but work keeps getting in the way.

Influences

Marvel's Infinity War (the hunt for the Totems mirrors the search for the Infinity Stones, Nxyly now has a gauntlet to hold the totems)

Performances

The interactions between Peta Sergeant and Jon Cryer are easily the highlight of the episode.


Artistry

The effects work is generally good.


Super Trivia

The episode title comes from a 2003 song by The Darkness.


Technobabble

The Nyxly AI is revealed to have been made from a future variant of Nyxly whom fell in love with Lex Luthor. 

Lena uses her magic to create a fake Love Totem by replicating the energy signature of the totems the Super Friends control. 

According to Lena, magic is heavily influenced by the caster's emotions so if she tries to cast a spell while angry, the magic will reflect that, assuming she is able to maintain the focus to complete the spell at all.

Brainiac-5 identifies the weapons Lex used to save Nysly as 31st century technology.

Reversing the Totem energy signatures can theoretically create a baseline for protecting against the Dream Totem.

Lena claims that the Totems are most effective when used as weapons and that while they can be used defensively, there's no way one Totem can protect against the power of two Totems used offensively. This also makes it impossible for her to create a defense based on using the Totem energy against one another. 

Despite this limit, Lena does come up with a way to protect Kara from the effects of the Humanity Totem.

Lex is able to fix Nyxly's crystal ball without magic, thanks to his studies of magic and science being melded together in the 31st century.

Lex claims that while the Totems' physical forms can be destroyed temporarily, the power inside them will flow into something else. This means that the destroyed Hope Totem was bound to be reborn, allowing him to claim the Hope Totem.

Dialogue Triumphs

(Lex is trying to convince Nyxly they are fated to be allies. Suddenly, Mitch enters the room.)
Mitch: Sorry I'm late. What is Lex Luthor doing here?
Nyxly: You're Lex Luthor, the madman who sent Supergirl to the Phantom Zone.
Lex: That was some of my best work.
Nyxly: Do you know what I really, really loathe? Men who send women to Phantom Zone!

Otis: Oh, I missed you, boss!
(Otis tries to hug Lex, who deftly ducks under his arm and keeps walking down the hall.)
Lex: Now, why couldn't Nyxly have given me that kind of reception?
Otis: So what if she rejected you? You're Lex Luthor! And your timing couldn't be better. Luthor Corp's returns are through the roof this quarter! Your mom gave me a board seat! 
(Lex freezes up. His face remains neutral but his eyes betray his shock and horror at this.)
Otis: And the way you left everything covered, I think I'm the only one who noticed you were gone. My point is, you don't need that imp.
Lex: See, the thing about that imp is she's the only thing I want. Nyxly is the love of my life.
Otis: I'm sorry, what?
Lex: I know. Me? In love? (scoffs) I've always shouldered this world alone. I've never known what it meant to have a true partner. Who could possibly match my wit, my flair, my unfiltered genius? But when I met Nyxly, I knew. She was the one. This was supposed to be so easy. Come to this time, help Nyxly get the Love Totem before the Super Friends find it, and then return to the future where my Nyxly would still be alive. I can't save her if she doesn't trust me. And she won't trust me if she doesn't even like me. And if she doesn't like me now, how will she love me in the future?
Otis: I did not understand a word of that. But if she loved you before, why don't you just do that again?
(Lex spins on Otis. Otis cringes, expecting to be hit or yelled at. Instead, Lex grins manically.) 
Lex: You big, beautiful idiot. That's exactly what I should do!

Nyxly: How did you know where I was? (sees the small drone hovering above her) What is that? Is that a surveillance drone? Are you stalking me? Creep!
Lex: I was protecting you. If I hadn't shown up when I did, you would be powerless in a prison right now.
Nyxly:You claim to be on my side. But I am no closer to finding my Totems. So get out!
Lex: Uh, this is my home.
(There is a brief pause as Nyxly realizes this.)
Nyxly: Fine!

(Otis suggests Lex brainwash Nyxly into loving him.)
Lex: Otis, my good man, forcing women into loving you is the underpinning of a toxic relationship.
Otis: But you love toxic relationships?
Lex: Not as much as I love Nyxly.

(Lex regards a tied-up Mitch.)
Lex: (mock cheerful) Hello, courier minion.

Kara: I'm not afraid to become that phantom. I've been letting Nyxly convince me that if I stoop to her level, I'd become a monster just like her. But you know what? I have something she doesn't. This team, this family. And no matter what happens, I know you all will pull me back from the edge, which is why I need your help now.
Lena: If I use my magic, I could end up hurting you.
Kara: You've been afraid to become the worst version of yourself because for so long, Lex was the only family you had. He wanted you to be a monster, and there was no one around to pull you back when you went too far. But he's not your family anymore. We are. Focus on the good. On your real family. Use that to fuel your magic... and you won't lose control. 

Nyxly: You had a clean shot at the Love Totem. And you abandoned it to save me. Why?
Lex: Did I? I must not have seen it.
Nyxly: Tell me the truth. What do you want from me?
Lex: You want the truth? The truth is I love you. I love you so much that when you... died, part of me died too. And you don't understand. I don't love anybody. In fact, I hate everyone. From a very young age, I knew I would move through this world alone, riding that solitary high-speed train towards progress and greatness all by myself. But there you were. This radiant, powerful being, vibrating with your own brilliant madness. I never thought anyone could match my ambition, my genius, but... Then I met you. In all the timelines, in all the dimensions, in all the universes, you... were the only one that could match me. But of course, you don't know any of this, 'cause you weren't there. Yet. You haven't met me yet, and I sound insane.
Nyxly: No one has ever selflessly sacrificed something for me like you did tonight. So, no, I wasn't there. But... If what you say is true and you really are here to help me succeed... Well, I don't see why we can't be friends.

Continuity

Lex explains that the AI in the suit he gave Nyxly in 615 was based on her future self and that it used the Dream Totem to manifest him in the current time.

Lex claims that, in the future, he and Nyxly became allies after she assembled the All-Stone, but the All-Stone eventually killed her because she didn't assemble it the right way. Thankfully, he was able to preserve her mind as an artificial intelligence and send her back in time to try and do it right.

Nyxly is not impressed and tells Luthor she will never work with him.

Kara works with J'onn to come up with a strategy to disarm Nyxly once they draw her out.

Nia, Lena and Kelly head to the Watchtower lab to work on the scientific aspects of their plan.

Alex just got the ring she plans to use to propose to Kelly. She wants to do it on the next evening, which is the anniversary of the night she realized she truly loved Kelly. This occurred when the Super Friends were at Al's Bar arguing about what was the best movie ever and they both said Die Hard.

Alex takes Esme with her to set things up at Al's Bar, but Al informs her that they booked the bar for a private event the next evening. Shockingly, Alex didn't think to ask Al if he did private bookings.

According to Otis, LuthorCorp returns for the past quarter have gone through the roof and Lillian Luthor gave him a chair on the Board of Directors.

Otis suggests that Lex do what he did to make Nyxly fall for him in this time so the present day Nyxly will trust him.

William agrees not to publish any new Super Friends stories until their next plan succeeds. 

The Super Friends conferred with the witch hologram to determine the next totem Nxyly needs is the Love Totem.

The Super Friends plan to use a fake Love Totem to lure Nyxly into a secure location where they can ambush her.

Ironically, the location they choose is on Lover's Lane Road.

Lena loses control of her magic when she sees Lex, who shows up to save Nyxly and helps her escape.

Kara is knocked out for several hours thanks to the Kryptonite energy of Lex's weapons. When she wakes up, Lena informs her that she'd rather not try and use her magic until she's sure she's able to do so without Lex interfering with her emotional state. 

Andrea pushes William to write a full expose on Lex Luthor working with Nxyly and refuses to listen to William's reminder how badly going after Lex worked for CatCo, even when they had evidence of Lex's wrong-doing, back in 602.

Andrea gives William until the end of the day to find proof of Lex's wrong-doing or she'll run a story about him anyway.

The Super Friends decide to use the Courage and Humanity Totems as shields from the Totems Nyxly controls, rather than trying to weaponize them.

It is suggested that Brainiac-5 contact the Legion of Superheroes to see if they know what Lex was doing in their time, but Brainiac-5 is reluctant to do so given that the last time he acted on future knowledge it led to his working with Lex Luthor behind his friends' backs.

Lena tries to create a shield against the Dream Totem.

Dreamer tries to forsee where the Love Totem is.

J'onn undertakes the gauntlet of the Courage Totem and is forced to relive the moment he was separated from his children in the concentration camps on Mars. 

J'onn is able to claim the power of the Courage Totem after fighting back against the White Martians to try and save his daughters.

Lex claims that in the future he and Nyxly had matching surveillance drones so they could track each other at all times.

Lex dismisses the idea of mind-controlling Nyxly as creepy. Instead, he kidnaps Mitch and gives him the location of the Love Totem one hour before the Super Friends found it in the original timeline.

Lex also says he can't just tell Nyxly they fall in love, as he believes admitting your feelings to a woman will only scare them off.

Mitch lies to Nyxly, claiming he found the Love Totem in a book, Tale Of An Object Infused with Love, which described Ines De Castro, the Corpse Bride of Portugal and a famous tomb belonging to a pair of lost lovers.

Dreamer also divines the Love Totem as being located in Lisbon, Portugal.

Nyxly is able to keep Supergirl at bay with a waking nightmare that causes her to hallucinate being attacked by Phantom Zone Phantoms and then being turned into a Phantom herself.

The Love Totem vanishes before Nyxly can take it. She also makes her escape.

Legends of the Love Totem say that, unlike the other totems, it has disappeared and reappeared repeatedly throughout history and that it gravitates to people in love or locations associated with love. It is likewise repelled by people who are hateful.

It is theorized the Love Totem teleported itself away when Nyxly got too close to it, as her reasons for seeking the All-Stone are hateful.

Nyxly goes to Lex and asks for his help, but insists that it is strictly business and they will never be friends.

J'onn apologized to Kara for not being able to shield her effectively, blaming the fact that his courage faltered when he saw Kara get hurt by Nyxly's Dream Totem attack.

Kara talks Lena into trying to use her magic to protect Kara from the side-effects of the Humanity Totem, so she can use it against Nyxly.

Alex talks with William about how Kelly was engaged once before and how Alex's attempt to propose to Maggie Sawyer ended badly. (Alex proposed to Maggie in 222, but they broke up in 305.)

William advises Alex to go ahead and propose to Kelly because there's no guarantee they could be alive tomorrow with Lex Luthor on the loose.

Lex tells Nyxly about how they learned to work her magic and his technology together to create "beautiful things." He also says that she glowed whenever she talked about acquiring the All-Stone and how she did ultimately get the revenge she sought. Lex guesses this is why the future her was more receptive to a friend like him.

It turns out that Kelly was the one who booked Al's Bar because she had the same idea as Alex. She sets up a surprise engagement party with the help of Esme, William and Al, who were all in on the plan.

Alex reaches for the ring in her pocket but finds the Love Totem there instead, just as Lex and Nyxly show up to steal it.

Kara is able to use the Humanity Totem to incapacitate Nyxly while Lena's magic keeps her from losing her own humanity.

Lex deflects the blast of the Courage Totem into the Love Totem, seemingly destroying it as he moves to teleport himself and Nyxly away.

Alex says that it doesn't matter if the Love Totem was destroyed because she still feels the love for her friends and family that she did before. In fact, after what Kelly did, she feels more loved than ever.

Lex tells Nyxly the truth about why he is helping her. While she is still cynical about him loving her, she does admit that his saving her is the first time anyone did something selfless for her and she thinks they can be friends now.

Dreamer suggests that they should all chip in and get Kelly and Alex matching motorcycles as an wedding gift.

Brainiac-5 thinks there's something odd about Lex's behavior, having noticed that he risked everything to save Nyxly rather than grab the Love Totem for himself.

Dreamer tells Brainiac-5 to all the Legion and see what they know about Lex in their time.

Lena thanks Kara for pushing her, because she is now sure that she is free of Lex's influence.

William has a secret meeting with Otis Graves in a dark alley.

Andrea uses her Acrata powers to break into Luthor Manor and sneaks a peak at Lex Luthor's diary. It is full of love poetry about Nyxly. 

Lex gives Nyxly the Hope Totem, which he was able to recover after it recontituted itself. He says they can do the same with the Love Totem.


Location

Luthor Manor
Lisbon, Portugal.


Untelevised Adventures

Lex Luthor traveled to the future and fell in love with a future version of Nyxly. It was working with her that allowed Lex to learn how to blend magic and technology together. 

Lex must also have done something to inspire great hope somewhere to acquire the Hope Totem.


The Fridge Factor

Andrea continues to be stupid and journalistically amoral  for the sake of pushing artificial drama.


The Bottom Line

Surprisingly solid, as the series enters the home stretch before its finale. More of Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor is always welcome, and his interactions with Otis are the comedic highlight of the episode, but Cryer also proves to have considerable chemistry with Peta Sergeant and there's just enough of the sly, sinister Lex to make his sudden change of heart believable. It's just a shame that all the other subplots and emotional moments (particularly J'onn confronting his daughter's deaths) don't get as much time. . 

Starman Plays Quest For Glory 4, The Thief Path - Part 6

In which we enter into the Brownstone of Dr. Cranium and engage in a series of logic puzzles to gain entry to the scientist's laboratory and enjoy what is perhaps the biggest Easter egg in all of Quest For Glory. Shout out to the Castle of Dr. Brain educational games for the win!

Starman Plays Quest For Glory 4, The Thief Path - Part 5

In which we try to reconcile Boris the Gatekeeper and Olga the Shopkeeper, check in the inn and experience our first instance of the voice acting of Hans, Franz and Ivan not matching the game dialogue. Featuring dueling Jack Nicholson impressions!

Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 2 - Loose Tooth

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Forced to work with Alice to track down the Bat-Trophies, Ryan Wilder's life is further complicated by the emergence of a new Killer Croc and the sudden arrival of Jada Jett; a powerful CEO who is insistent on meeting Wayne Enterprises' new CEO. Meanwhile, a secret threatens to drive Luke and Mary apart, as Sophie grows closer to Ryan.

Influences

General beastman horror movie aesthetic, with a man-eating monster in the sewers of Gotham.


Goofs

Steven's father reportedly took him to several Gotham City doctors trying to treat his condition, yet none of them noticed the resemblance to Killer Croc's rare condition?


Performances

As usual, the interplay between Javicia Leslie and Rachel Skarsten is the best aspect of the episode.


Artistry

The direction of the episode does a good job of pushing the horror movie elements of the story, particularly in the opening scene at the pool.

The make-up for Croc 2.0 is good.


Bat Trivia

This episode title kept changing from "Loose Tooth" to "Loose Teeth" in various announcements building to its release.

Killer Croc first appeared in Detective Comics #523 in February 1983. Born Waylon Jones, Croc was the victim of a rare form of atavism that gave him reptilian skin. His mother died in childbirth and he was raised by an abusive aunt. In the Pre-Crisis reality, he was the killer of Jason Todd's parents and presented as a large, but still basically human mob boss.

After Crisis, Croc was reworked into a more monstrous figure, with his condition being aggravated by a virus that devolved him in the Hush storyline. More recent comics have made Croc more animalistic, but explained away his enhanced strength and ability to breathe underwater as the result of his disease interacting with his metagene. 

The Arrowverse version of Killer Croc was a professional wrestler named Waylon Jones, who developed some kind of disease that started slowly turning him into the monstrous crocodile man of the Post-Crisis era. Reportedly Batman tried to find a cure for his condition, but the GCPD elected to solve the problem of Croc's cannibalism by dropping thermite into the sewer. Reportedly all Batman could find of Croc afterward was a single tooth.

In the opening scene, one of the new Croc's victims makes reference to Aquaman and how he is ripped. This could be an indicator that the Arrowverse Aquaman is a doppelganger of Jason Momoa's famously muscular and often shirtless take on the King of the Seven Seas.


Technobabble

The original Killer Croc suffered from an unidentified infection that caused his skin to grow scales, eventually developing an elongated jaw, claws and a tail. 

According to Sophie, Killer Croc's saliva contained a paralytic agent which rendered his victims unconscious.

Mary notes that medical professionals do not use the word "crazy" to describe patients now.

The Batwing suit tracks medical date like biometrics, eye movement, electromagnetic impulses to the brain and heart rate. Due to a glitch, when the person wearing the suit is injured, it places the suit in safe mode and shuts down.


Dialogue Triumphs

Montoya: If you attempt to escape, this release will be rescinded and you will spend the remainder of your life at Arkham in solitary confinement. Any questions?
Alice: Yes. (gestures to tracking bracelet) Does this kind of wreck my ensemble?
Montoya: Any questions I'm likely to answer? 

Ryan: You're tying my fate to a psychopath? 

Montoya: Well, more like handcuffing it, but yes.

(Mary and Luke are working on the Batwing suit.)
Mary: If I'm reading this right, the suit thought you were injured.
Luke: Yeah, which prompted a system-wide shutdown, putting the suit in safe mode.
Mary: Turning off in the middle of a fight because it thinks you need medical assistance seems more like unsafe mode. 

Luke: Yeah, well, there's a reason that this thing was under a tarp in my dad's lab and not out on patrol in Gotham. 

Alice: I was thinking back to my first kill, for which I chose a geriatric harpy with an oxygen tank. Now, do you know why I did that?
Ryan: Because you're a killer, Alice.
Alice: No. (beat) Well, yes, but that's not the takeaway. I chose her because she was easy pickings.

Alice: Do you really think I'm gonna run?
Ryan: Do you really think I'm going to believe that you give a damn about stopping this Croc? Yes. I think you're gonna run the first chance you get. So, it's my job not to give you any chances.
Alice: Oh, that's funny. I thought it was your job to save a little girl.
Ryan: Don't act like you're here to do the good deed, Alice. You only think about yourself, so, don't you dare use that little girl as camouflage.
Alice: (intensely) I was that little girl. Don't act like you're the only one with abandonment issues. I will not give up on this girl the way everyone gave up on me.


Continuity

The opening scene shows two college students sneaking into a private pool, which was apparently turned into a lair by the new Killer Croc. What remains of their bodies is discovered later.

Alice is released into Ryan's custody, with the understanding that if she harms or attempts to harm anyone she will go back to Arkham for the rest of her life. She likewise threatens to out Ryan as Batwoman and put her in Arkham if she refuses to go along with this and fails to keep Alice under control.

According to Luke, Killer Croc ran wild in Gotham 20 years earlier and was a professional wrestler named Waylon Jones.

Bruce Wayne apparently tried to research a cure for Killer Croc's condition, but the GCPD killed Croc before he got the chance. All Batman was able to find of Croc afterward was a single tooth. It's possible the tooth could spread the same infection.

Wayne Tower is 44 stories tall, according to Alice.

Jada Jet, the CEO of Jeturian Industries contacts Wayne Tower wanting to have an immediate meeting with the Wayne Enterprises CEO.

Before leaving Gotham City, Kate Kane named Ryan Wilder the acting CEO of Wayne Enterprises so that she could handle an problems that came up in her absence.

Jada Jet took over Jeturian Industries after her husband's death a decade earlier and doubled the company's wealth.

Jeturian Industries specializes in microtechnology.

Sophie tells Ryan that Jada Jet is her birth mother.

Jada Jet says she met Bruce Wayne a few times. She exchanged heated words with him after he poached one of her best employees.

Jeturian Industries is 12 blocks away from Wayne Tower.

Jada Jet explains that she came to talk to Ryan because someone hacked into her company's servers and the trail led to an IP belonging to Wayne Enterprises. She accuses Ryan of corporate espionage and tells her this is her one warning to stay out of her business.

The artificial intelligence in the Batwing suit has Lucius Fox's voice and something of his personality, as it offers to show pictures of Luke when he was 6 when Mary asks it what Luke was like as a kid.

Alice theorizes that the new Killer Croc, like any young predator, would start out going after lone targets or other easy prey. This leads her to go through the missing persons reports and discover a spike in missing persons on the East River, less than two miles from the pool murders.

A girl named Whitney Hutchinson is abducted by the new Croc while playing in a park near dusk.

Alice finds a sizeable piece of shed reptile skin which had to have belonged to the new Croc.

Alice tries to get Ryan talking about meeting her birth mother. To shut her up, Ryan says she seemed powerful and strong, but she doesn't care to have her in her life.

Ryan and Alice discovered rotting meat hanging in one part of the sewer. It was hung by a man who said the new Killer Croc was his son, Steven.

Mary gives Luke a physical. He seems to be in good health, apart from his heart racing when Mary touches him while his shirt is off.

Luke decides to override the fail safe on the Batwing suit, thinking the AI is overprotective.

According to Steven's father, he discovered Killer Croc's tooth in the stomach of a bluegill they caught while on a fishing trip. He put the tooth on a necklace and cut himself on it. After that he got an infection and began changing in ways the doctors couldn't explain.

Steven' father uses an animal taser to incapacitate Batwoman.

The new Killer Croc grabs his father and drags him off.

Alice takes the taser and uses it to short out her tracker bracelet before running for it.

Mary lies about the suit being fixed when Ryan asks her about it and if Luke can join her in the field.

Alice hears Whitney Hutchinson crying for help, but abandons her when she discovers her leg is broken.

Ryan tries to talk the new Croc down, but gives up after she finds the father dead.

Batwing catches Alice and injects her injects her with nanobot trackers.

Batwoman is able to beat the new Croc and save Whitney Hutchinson.

Vesper Fairchild dubs the new villain Croc 2.0 and reports that Arkham Asylum is building a special cell for him.

The Lucius AI is not speaking since Luke disabled the failsafe.

Mary determines that the suit was shutting down because it sensed an injury around Luke's gunshot wound from last year. She suggests that the suit was sensing psychological tension.

The Rogues Unit investigate a Poison Ivy vine that is determined to be a fake.

Ryan confronts Jada Jet and tells her that she is the baby she abandoned.


Untelevised Adventures

Montoya encountered Poison Ivy at some point in the past.


The Fridge Factor

Alice abandons the missing girl after saying she'd never abandon a girl like she was, in a forced moment that seems to have been written into the show purely because the audience was feeling more sympathy after Season 2 for Alice than Ryan.


The Bottom Line

Largely lackluster, despite some effective horror-movie direction and good production values on the new Killer Croc. Unfortunately, the whole thing suffers from feeling rushed and Alice acting out of character because the writers are apparently afraid they need to remind the audience that Alice is an anti-hero constantly.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 7, Episode 2 - The Need For Speed

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

The quest to get to New York City leads Nate to try impersonating the now-deceased J. Edgar Hoover - a task that is easier said than done. Meanwhile, as Zari undergoes a digital detox and tries to figure out who blew up the Waverider, Astra and Spooner cope with their sudden creation of a flesh-and-blood Gideon.

Influences

Murder on the Orient Express (mystery on a train), Harry Potter (Gary's potion seems to be based on the Polyjuice Potion), The Terminator (appearance of time-traveling Hoover robot once its face is removed) and 1940's gangster movies.


Goofs

A sign in 701 suggested that it was either April or July 1925, based on the day of the Bullet Blondes first robbery. This wildly conflicts with Gideon's declaration that November 7th, 1925 is in two weeks.


Performances

Nick Zano has a good turn here playing Nate playing J. Edgar Hoover and getting a little too into the role.


Artistry

The effects-work/costume for the Hoover robot.

Again, the period costumes are fantastic across the board.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

This is the first episode to feature a new animated title card sequence for Season 7. Matt Ryan appears as his new character at the end of it.

The title of the episode is both a reference to a line from the movie Top Gun and a nod to J. Edgar Hoover's nickname among his closest agents. There are several stories about how Hoover earned the "Speed" nickname, but the one Hoover himself told was that it related to how quick he was as a grocery delivery boy in his youth.


Technobabble/Arcana

Gary knows how to brew a magic potion that allows someone to look like someone else. However, it requires time to ferment properly and a sample of the spit, fingernails or hair of the person you want to look like. 

The potion has some unfortunate side effects and limits. First, it seems to cause the person who drinks it to become more like the person they're impersonating, leading to Nate being casually racist to his teammates. Also, anyone who sees the potion being drunk will be immune to the illusion, so Gary and Behrad can't tell if the illusion is working or not as Nate drinks the potion in front of them before Gary can tell him not to. The potion's duration is also dependent on the metabolism of the person who drinks it, so it can last for as long as a day or as short as an hour.

The refrigerator in the mansion dimension is enchanted to keep creating endless bottles of whiskey.

Gary has two stomachs.

Dialogue Triumphs

Ava: My safe word is core competency. 

Sara: Great men aren't usually good guys.

Zari: Shh. Aves, I love you. I love you both. I love your love. I love that you're loving each other right now, even if that love is happening directly above me while I eat sugar foam. 

Nate: Hoover doesn't run an investigation from behind!

Spooner: So why are you so mad at Gideon? She hasn't done anything to you.
Astra: Because... she's a constant reminder of my giant failure.
Spooner: That's why you don't want to go after the Legends.
Astra: I'm useless to them, Spooner.
Spooner: You made one mistake, Astra. Ease up on yourself. At least you still have magic.
Astra: Hey, you have things to offer too.
Spooner: Like what? Without aliens, what do I bring to the table? Ranch wear? 


Continuity

Behard knows a surprising amount of information about how car engines work.

The radio reports indicate that the Bullet Blondes are on the loose but nothing is said about J. Edgar Hoover going missing.

After the Legends discover a train ticket to New York from Midland, they hit upon the idea of Nate continuing to impersonate J. Edgar Hoover. This leads to Gary brewing an illusion potion that will let Nate look like Hoover.

Gideon is apparently unable to speak.

To distract people away from Nate not looking like J. Edgar Hoover, Behrad and Gary pose as FBI agents and they act like they've captured the Bullet Blondes and are taking them to New York.

The Legends are able to commandeer the honeymoon suite on the train, which is said to be the most secure room on the train. The couple who had rented the room are happy to oblige, specifically thanking Hoover for The Palmer Raids.

Nate explains that The Palmer Raids were a series of arrests the Bureau of Investigation ran in 1919 and 1920 to round up and deport immigrants, anarchists, union organizers, communists, and radical leftists who were said to be trying to engineer a revolution in the United States.

Sara and Ava enter into the back-up mansion with Zari's key, taking the Time Bureau manual and the chocolates from the Honeymoon Suite with them.

Zari 2.0 is decidedly dressed down, wearing a red flannel bathrobe that resembles one of the shirts favored by Zari 1.0. She is also stoned out of her mind on Behrad's spare gummies. 

Sara and Ava start celebrating their honeymoon in the upstairs part of the mansion. 

Nate is treated to lunch by an FBI agent named Francis Baker Junior, who is quite pointed about not inviting Behrad or Gary to join them.

Gideon keeps making apple-headed dolls and crushing them in an effort to communicate with Spooner and Astra.

Gideon unexpectedly passes out.

Ava discovers Zari eating whipped cream straight from the container - another thing Zari 1.0 was known to do when depressed.

Ava suggests that Zari start cleaning the mansion to distract herself from her breakup.

According to Zari, Ava is quite noisy in bed, which Ava denies, until Zari says "Core Competency."

When a woman's purse goes missing in the dining car, Nate takes command of the situation and solves the case (a dog named Goldie took it to get at the pastry inside it) despite the other FBI agents wanting to blame Behrad and Gary.

Another group of FBI agents get on the train at Texarkana and inform Nate that they've learned of a plot to kidnap him.

Astra says that Gideon isn't really a person, but Gloria says that Gideon has a heartbeat which makes her human enough for her.

Gloria points out that if the Legends had gotten a working time machine and hadn't come to get Astra and Spooner by now, that probably means their plan to go to New York didn't work.

Hoover's agents immediately assume the kidnappers must be foreigners because they misspelled "train" and "northbound" on an intercepted telegram. The fact that they might be illiterate or bad spellers eludes them.

Nate, Gary and Behrad interview everyone on the train. Unsurprisingly, most of the workers and lower class people hate Hoover, while the rich passengers love him.

Gary, Nate and Behrad eventually figure out that the only way to realistically kidnap someone on a train would be to redirect it down another route that wasn't being watched by the FBI.

The FBI agents hit upon Igor Lewandowski - a Russian train engineer and labor organizer who suddenly joined the train crew in Midland.

The FBI agents encourage Nate to beat a confession out of Lewandowski in private. Nate tries to go along with it, much to Behrad and Gary's disappointment.

Zari starts out trying to clean the mansion's kitchen, but she discovers that the fridge is enchanted to keep creating bottles of whiskey. (Zari notes that you aren't supposed to keep whiskey refrigerated.)

Ava finds Zari obsessing over the multiple whiskey bottles.

Zari theorizes that the second Waverider that blew up their Waverider had to have come from somewhere, which means that other Waveriders could be coming from anywhere in time again.

Gideon makes six apple-head dolls, puts them in a box and smashes them. Astra and Spooner still have no idea what she's trying to tell them.

Astra says she feels useless since she can't get her magic to work most of the time. Spooner admits to feeling similarly limited since her power only worked on aliens.

Gideon electrocutes herself after Astra wishes she could just shove her back into the wires and sockets. This causes Astra and Spooner to realize that Gideon can understand them, even if she can't communicate back.

Zari read the Time Bureau manual, which is over 200 pages.

Zari and Ava began using the whiskey bottles to count out every enemy the Legends had who might have blown up the Waverider. These include Damien Darhk (who they don't know is dead), Lex Luthor (whom Sara encountered during Crisis on Infinite Earths), Mallus (the villain of season 3), the Crisis paragons, Rip Hunter (who was briefly a villain in Season 2) Rasputin (an Encore in season 5), Kuasa (Vixen's evil cousin from season 3), a unicorn (monster in season 4 premiere) a giant Beebo (Crisis on Infinite Earths), David Bowie (season 6) and the multiverse itself. Mention is also made of time wraiths (from The Flash), time witches (from Supergirl), time pirates (from season 1), clones and doppelgangers. Time itself is also mentioned. 

Hoover interrogated Lewandowski back in 1919 during the hunt for Emma Goldman.

Lewandowski lost everything because of Hoover, but he was planning to stay away from him, not kidnap him. In fact, he was coming to tell the FBI that someone switched the track the train was on when he was arrested.

The FBI agents who warned Nate about the plot were actually gangsters working for Al Capone, who was behind the plot.

The gangsters call Al Capone Snorky. This was one of his many nicknames, with Snorky being a slang term for a sharp-dresser.

Nate gets off the train to confront the gangsters. Unfortunately, it's at this point Gary's illusion wears off and the gangsters realize he's a fake. 

Ava makes mention of the demon dog from 511.

Sara, Ava and Zari show up with all the whiskey Zari made. This distracts the gangsters away from killing Nate.

Nate apologizes to Gary and Behrad for how he acted earlier.

Another J. Edgar Hoover shows up and starts shooting the gangsters.

The second J. Edgar Hoover turns out to be a robot, which self-destructs.

The Legends now believe that robots blew up the Waverider.

Spooner reportedly did not start talking until she was six years old, but Gloria said she still found ways to make herself understood.

Spooner holds Gideon's hand and is able to hear her thoughts.

Gideon says that Dr. Davies time machine experiment will take place on November 7th, 1925. That is two weeks from that day, making the date of this episode October 24, 1925.

Location

Most of the Legends spend the episode on a train between Midland, Texas and Texarkana, Texas.

Spooner, Astra and Gideon remain in Odessa, Texas, where the episode ends on October 24, 1925.

The Bottom Line

An amusing episode, which builds the stakes of the season well.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 16 - Nightmare in National City

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

A nightmare monster attacks National City, as Kara finds herself landing a story she always dreamed of. As Dreamer leads the battle against the monster and turns to her estranged sister for help, Nxyly meets her secret admirer and an unholy alliance is formed!

Influences

Under the Dome by Stephen King (the dome the Super Friends use to trap the nightmare monster is similar), Ancient Greek Mythology (dream totem in a Minoan Labyrinth) and Kaiju movies in general. (giant monster, feeds on radiation.)


Performances

Nicole Maines has a fantastic turn as Dreamer in this episode.


Artistry

The CGI for the battle between Dreamer and Nyxly is quite good.


Super Trivia

Kara makes reference to "World Diplomacy Live," a 1995 interview conducted by Larry King between King Hussein of Jordan, Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Afrafat.

Andrea makes reference to Kara's interview as being like Oprah Winfrey's interview with "the Royals." This is a reference to a March 2021 interview with Prince Harry and his wife which was a major ratings grabber at the time.


Technobabble

The Lexosuit given to Nxyly creates an artificial intelligence based on her mind.

The Dream Totem is said to give the possessor the same powers that Nia Nul inherited.

Dr. Pavoni with the Dream Institute of National City built a device capable of allowing people to access the Dream Realm without metahuman powers.

The Lexosuit is able to replicate the function of Dr. Pavoni's machine after a few moments connected to it.

Lex Luthor designed a satellite-based force-field that could wall off an entire city. Lena uses this to trap the nightmare monster temporarily. Unfortunately, this also cuts off half of National City from the outside world.

Nuclear energy and dream energy are similar enough that a nuclear power plant acts as a beacon to Nightmare Monsters.

The Oracle of Delphi placed a ward on the Dream Totem so that it could only be claimed by one who is pure in heart, mind and sight

Dialogue Triumphs

(The Dream Totem has declared Maeve unworthy of its power.)
Maeve: It was supposed to be mine. I worked my entire life towards becoming the Dreamer. Studying, preparing... Every decision I ever made was for that. It was my purpose, my identity. (to Nia) And you took it!
Nia: I didn't have a choice. I tried to transfer the powers to you, I told you that. But I couldn't. So what do you want me to say? That... That you should be the Dreamer? That I don't know what I'm doing most of the time? That I'm in over my head?
Maeve: (bitterly) Honesty, finally.
Nia: Oh, you want honesty? Okay. I have no pity for you! I'm sorry that you wasted all of those years reading all of those books, assuming with no cause, by the way, that you'd be the Dreamer. But look at yourself, Maeve. You were willing to put the entire universe at stake so you could take the powers. Are you really that selfish? Do you think that's what the Dreamer would do? You don't think I deserve these powers? You don't think I'm a real woman? Well, I don't care. I know who I am. I am the Dreamer. The question is who are you? Because you are clearly not the sister that I thought you were.

Continuity

According to Nia, her father took her side in the argument with her sister Maeve from 411. This caused Maeve to take all of her mother's notes and research with her before disappearing.

Brainy suggests that Nia try and use her powers to find a clue of where her sister is.

Nia has a vison of an address at Crispin University.

Brainy hasn't been using his image inducer since William began working at the Tower, but Nia tells him he should keep his natural look.

When Nxyly was 10, she had a crush on Duke Nzykmlk - a cousin of Mister Mxyptlk. This fact convinces her that the AI in her Lexosuit really is her.

Alex brings drawings of each of the Super Friends that Esme made to the Tower.

Kelly has taken Esme to visit James in Calvintown.

It has been at least one week since the events of 615, as Kara makes reference to Kaznia and Corto Maltese agreeing to a truce within the last week. The official peace treaty is due to be signed in National City within the next few days.

Kara was somehow able to watch Larry King's "World Diplomacy Live" interview while trapped in her pod in the Phantom Zone.

Kara asked Cat Grant to pull some strings to arrange for her to meet with Prime Minister Perez of Corto Maltese and President Zakharov of Kaznia.

Andrea considers Kara's idea of trying to show the peace process in action boring, but thinks CatCo can hype it as being like their version of "Oprah and the Royals."

Nia discovers that Maeve changed her name to Dr. Reeve and that the address in her vision was for Maeve's new office at Crispin University.

Maeve tries to apologize for saying Nia wasn't a real woman but Nia cuts her off, saying she doesn't want to talk about that.

Maeve has heard of the Dream Totem and has several books which discuss it and where to find it.

William offers to help Kara prepare for the interview, having written big articles on both Kaznia and Corto Maltese in the past.

Nyxyly's creation of a dream portal unleashes a nightmare monster from the Dream Realm.

The Nightmare monster becomes invisible after it is pinned-in by the Super Friends' forcefield. This also causes its energy signature to become undetectable. 

According to Maeve, the Dream Totem was once housed with the Oracle of Delphi's temple but was relocated to the Dream Realm after the Dorians invaded. It is also suggested that the gauntlet to claim the Dream Totem might have inspired the legends of the Labyrinth. 

Maeve also has a tapestry which depicts the Oracle's directions to the Dream Totem. The first part says the Totem is warded so that it can only be claimed by one who is pure of heart, mind and sight.

Maeve recognizes one of the symbols in the tapestry as the Naltoran symbol of purity, which matches the symbol on a necklace her mother gave her, telling her that it would light up her dreams.

Maeve and Nia guess the tree in the tapestry may be a link to the forest in Nia's dreams of late.

Maeve made a scrapbook of news stories about Dreamer.

Nia invites Maeve to join her in the Dream Realm in finding the Totem.

Nia texts Brainy to tell him what she's discovered. He relays to the other Super Friends that the Dream Totem is in the Dream Realm, which explains why Nyxly was trying to get back into it.

The Super Friends work to combine Dr. Pavlov's machine with Lena's portal tech to create their own pathway into the Dream Realm.

William calls Kara and reminds her about their appointment to do a mock interview. J'onn tells her to go ahead as the rest of the team has things under control.

Maeve makes reference to a writer named M.K. Nessler who wrote a book called Of Dreams Beyond which was about navigating the dream realm.

Maeve's necklace glows near one particular tree. This opens the way into the wider Dream Expanse beyond Nia's personal dreamscape.

William advises Kara not to let her subjects duck any direct questions.

Andrea is able to arrange an off-the-books meeting with the chief Kaznia treat negotiator later that day at 2 PM.

The governor of California demands the Super Friends remove the dome.

Nyxly spies Nia and Maeve and follows after them.

The governor gives the Super Friends 12 hours to complete a portal device to get rid of the Nightmare monster. 

People begin rioting trying to escape the dome.

Kara misses the meeting with the Kaznia negotiator because they came and left while she was out stopping the rioting as Supergirl.

Nia uses her powers to create a floating platform - a trick she learned on her own. This enables them to get a birds-eye view of the forest and find the glowing spire that contains the Dream Totem.

Amdrea calls and threatens to fire Kara if anything goes wrong with the interview. 

The Governor calls out the Air Force and the National Guard to try and take down the dome.

Willaim comes to the tower to get a statment on the current disaster, saying that Supergirl is needed to calm people down, as Kara is getting ready to leave for her interview. 

Maeve tries to take the Dream Totem but it denies her, saying she is not pure and that she's a traitor to her family who wanted to try and use the Dream Totem to take away Nia's powers.

Nxyly tries to use her gauntlet to break the ward on the Dream Totem.

Maeve gives Nia her necklace thinking the extra dream power might help. Unfortunately, Nxyly is able to get away with the Dream Totem.

Kara is forced to leave the interview to help push the Nightmare beast back into the Dream Realm.

When Kara leaves, the diplomats have already left the site of the interview.

Kara decides to quite her job as a reporter at CatCo and tells Andrea to let William do the interview instead.

Maeve tries to apologize to Nia again Nia refuses to forgive her but does agree to give her a second chance.

Maeve gives Nia her necklace.

Supergirl makes the inspiring speech William suggested.

Lex Luthor reveals himself to Nyxly.

Location

Crispin University
The Dream Realm


Untelevised Adventures

Kelly and Esme are said to be visiting James in Calvintown.

Kara asked Cat Grant to pull some strings to arrange for her to meet with Prime Minister Perez of Corto Maltese and President Zakharov of Kaznia.

The Bottom Line

A great Dreamer episode but everything else seems rushed, especially Kara's exit from CatCo. Still, if this means no more (or at least fewer) scenes of Andrea being the world's worst news editor, I'll take it.

Starman Plays Quest For Glory 4, The Thief Path - Part 4

In which we get to know the Chief Thief or Mordavia, who seems to be an okay sort if you ignore his current... skin condition. We then undertake our first freelance thieving gig against The Man (such as he is) in this town and have what will be the first of many dark dreams that seem to point to strange goings on in this little valley.

Starman Plays Quest For Glory 4, The Thief Path - Part 3

In which we head to the north end of Moradvia town, enjoy a little graveyard humor (very little) and start exploring the abandoned Adventurer's Guild Hall... which leads us to discover the not so abandoned Thieves' Guild Hall.

Starman Plays Quest For Glory 4, The Thief Path - Part 2

In which we meet Boris, the strangely familiar gatekeeper of Castle Borgov, before making out way to the village of Mordavia, where we try not to piss off the Bourgemeister and get to know Olga, the local shopkeeper/gossip-monger.

Batwoman Episode Guide: Season 3, Episode 1 - Mad As A Hatter

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Ryan Wilder continues to defend the streets as Batwoman, with Luke Fox assisting, despite his not quite mastering his new suit or his double life. Despite things being relatively peaceful, Ryan is still haunted by Alice's claims that Ryan's biological mother is still alive. As she investigates this, Mary prepares for graduation from medical school, Sophie enjoys her newfound freedom and an Alice admirer stumbles across one of the missing Bat Trophies, leading to a gruesome graduation and a shocking new partnership. 

Influences

Silence of the Lambs (the hero works with a killer in prison to catch another killer)


Performances

Victoria Cartagena gives a solid first performance as Rene Montoya.

Amitai Marmorstein is a delightful Mad Hatter. Hopefully this won't be his only appearance, as it seems such a shame to only use him once given his thematic ties to Alice.


Artistry

The direction does a fantastic job of presenting the horror elements of the story.


Bat Trivia

The new Mad Hatter's address is 8240 Miller Place, Gotham City. This is likely a nod to legendary Batman writer Frank Miller.

This episode introduces the Arrowverse version of Rene Montoya. She is played by Victoria Cartagena, who previously played a different version of Rene Montoya on the first season of Gotham. This makes her one of a rare number of actors who have recreated a role they played in another series for the Arrowverse.

Rene Montoya is a notable character, having originally been created as a GCPD beat cop who became a detective in Batman: The Animated Series, who was later introduced into the comics. The series developed her into a lesbian and an ex of Kate Kane. Rene was later trained by Vic Sage and he took up his mantle as The Question. (The episode seems to tease at this, with Montoya telling Batwoman at one point to "answer the question.")

Rene Montoya has newspaper headlines in her office which confirm the existence of The Penguin, The Riddler and Catwoman in the Arrowverse.

The first Mad Hatter is Jervis Tetch, as in the comics . He does not appear in the episode, but Lucius Fox's description of him sounds accurate to the comics - a neuroscientist who was tiny, insecure and annoying. The Mad Hatter first appeared in Batman #49 (October 1948) where he was a bandit with an Alice in Wonderland theme. He would not be retconned as having the the mind control technology that was his hallmark until the 1980s.


Technobabble

Jervis Tetch built mind control technology into his hat, which latches on to the brain of whoever wears the hat. The hat runs on radio waves but can be disrupted by a frequency of 128 hertz.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Ryan and Luke are chatting as they fight a group of marijuana farmers.)
Ryan: Where were we? Oh, yeah. Sidekick names.
Luke: Just FYI, no sidekick actually likes being referred to as a sidekick.

Ryan: Copy that, my number two dude. 

Luke: Nope, not that either.

(Mary lays down the law regarding attending her graduation.)
Mary: I go on at 7:00, which means your butt needs to be in your seat at 6:30 sharp! So if there's a bomber threatening to take out half the city, just remember that I only become an official MD once, and people bomb Gotham every other day.

Alice: I was wondering when you'd come crawling back. You stormed out of here in such a... huff last time, I was worried it was something I said.
Ryan: Tell me what you're planning with your Mad Hatter superfan.
Alice: I told you I don't know him.
Ryan: Well, he certainly knows a lot about you.
Alice: Have you watched the news? My identity's been outed, and some people actually appreciate that I'm just a girl standing in front of a psychiatric ward, asking them not to fry her brain.
Ryan: Uh-huh.
Alice: Oh, come on. We both know I'm utterly helpless behind these walls. You came because you want all the dirty deets on Mommy D.
Ryan: I saw my birth mother's death certificate. Nia A. Wilder. Died the day I was born.
Alice: If you say so, dear.
Ryan: What is this? Hmm? Are you lonely? You need to keep somebody on a leash to stop you from slipping into total isolation?
Alice: (laughs) Am I lonely? Look at your life. Your closest emotional connection is an ex in witness protection. You have no one. I gave you someone to fill the hole in your little, empty heart.
Ryan: I have my friends. Luke and Mary?
Alice: Right. Who you're so close to you couldn't even tell your birth mother lied to you all these years.

Mayor: Look. I am 30 days into this whole Mayor gig, and I am not putting the words "rogues" or "toys" onto my budget.
Rene Montoya: What about the words "mass casualty" and "preventable" on your resignation letter? Mayor, I love this city in my bones, and I need you to hear me before this becomes Jim Gordon's Gotham all over again.

(Alice has just stabbed the Mad Hatter.)
Alice: Word of advice... don't ever meet your heroes. 

Mad Hatter: You really are the monster they say you are. 

Alice: (sadly) That's me.

Batwoman: Never seen you before. You a cop?
Rene Montoya: Fortunately for you, no.
Batwoman: How do you have this list?
Rene Montoya: Over a dozen weapons of mass destruction are belly up in the Gotham river somewhere, and your main concern is how I know?
Batwoman: I'm cleaning it up.
Rene Montoya: I'm sure that warms the parents of the kid whose buddy slit open his throat the other night.
Batwoman: Where'd you get this list?
(Alice emerges from the shadows.)
Alice: From me in exchange for my freedom.
Batwoman: I don't know who you are, but teaming up with Gotham's most prolific criminal is gonna blow up in your face.
Rene Montoya: It worked out well for you today. You and Alice stopped a madman, and he's just the beginning.
Batwoman: Why did you call me here?
Rene Montoya: You're strong, and you have access. She's got the mind of a psychopath, so together, you two are gonna find and stop every freak who gets his hands on one of these weapons until each of the items on that list are found and accounted for.
Batwoman: Hard pass.
Rene Montoya: It's just as easy for me to shut down your illegal vigilante operation... Ryan Wilder.
Alice: Heh. Wow!All that time my boyfriend, father, sister spent trying to break through to my good side... tsk, tsk, tsk... silly them. It's so much more fun on my bad side.
Rene Montoya: So do we have a deal or what?
Alice: Oh, yes. I for one am in.
Rene Montoya: Batwoman, answer the question. You in, or are you hanging up the cape?
Batwoman: Sounds like I don't have a choice.


Continuity

The episode opens with a flashback to 218, revealing what happened to the Mad Hatter's hat. It was found, cleaned up, and sold on ebay to a man named Liam Crandle. He is an Alice fanboy with a Free Alice poster in his apartment.

A news broadcast confirms that a board at Gotham University Hospital declared Alice unfit for trial and suggested she continue to be confined in Arkham Asylum.

Luke still has not decided what his hero name will be. He was, however, considering Black Batman.

Alice is revealed to have several letters and postcards from Jacob pinned up in her cell.

Ryan and Luke went after the farmers because Luke determined they had bought a stolen sprig from one of Poison Ivy's vines, after trying to find people on the dark web who could benefit from a plant growth formula.

Luke's suit locks up in the middle of the fight, but Ryan saves him.

Mary visits Alice in Arkham Asylum at Jacob's request, despite really not wanting to see Alice at all.

Jacob Kane is still imprisoned in Metropolis.

Alice tells Mary that she's gotten several letters from Jacob since she was placed in Arkham Asylum.

Alice asks Mary about Ryan and what she discovered about her birth mother still being alive.

The Poison Ivy vine is the fourth of the Bat-Trophies Ryan has recovered.

Mary is about to graduate from medical school and is the valedictorian of her class.

Mary tells Ryan what Alice said about her birth mother. When Luke and Mary ask about it, Ryan lies and says Alice is just taunting her over her mom dying giving birth.

Liam runs a podcast devoted to Alice which paints her as a victim of an unfair system that treats the mentally ill poorly. He is accosted, while filming in one of Alice's old lairs, by two thugs.

Liam's Mad Hatter hat glows as he talks to the thugs and he orders one to kill the other.

The original Mad Hatter fought Batman roughly 20 years ago.

Rene Montoya is the head of the Rogues Unit - a division of the Mayor's Office rather than the GCPD, charged with monitoring supervillains.

Luke identifies the original Mad Hatter as a man named Jervis Tetch, whom his father's notes describe as "tiny, insecure and annoying." 

Bruce had the Mad Hatter's hat deprogrammed, but Luke guesses it reactivated with Liam put it on.

Ryan's birth mother's name was Nia A. Wilder.

Sophie is playing the field and dating several women. She confirms that she and Kate are still friends, but things are way too complicated to be more.

Sophie senses Ryan is upset and asks what is wrong. This leads to Sophie telling her about Alice's claim that her birth mother is alive.

Sophie offers to track down Ryan's mom.

The new Mad Hatter takes over the stage of Mary's graduation ceremony.

Sophie determines that the doctor who oversaw Ryan's birth was Dr. Quadracci- a shady doctor who later lost his license because of an act of wire fraud.

Mayor Hartley, the new mayor of Gotham City, has only been in office for 30 days.

Sophie determines that Nia A. Wilder didn't exist and that the same doctor who helped deliver Ryan also signed the death certificate of her mom.

Dr. Quadracci saw 25 patients in the days surrounding Ryan's birth. One of them was treated the day before Ryan was born for an ovarian cyst. Whoever this woman was paid $2 million dollars to have her pregnancy covered up.

Sophie says she can give Ryan her mother's name, but she couldn't find anything about her father.

The new Mad Hatter takes the graduation ceremony hostage and decries how the board which decided Alice's fate took only 10 minutes to decide she needed to go to Arkham for the rest of her life.

The Mad Hatter forces Mary to read a different speech than she had prepared about the failures of the medical system which is more concerned with punishment and profits than helping people in need.

The Mad Hatter also controls Mary into performing surgery on Dr. Hall, the head of the board that condemned Alice.

Ryan breaks into Arkham as Batwoman to get Alice out.

Luke is able to generate a signal that will keep the Mad Hatter from making new commands, but he can't counter the commands he already gave.

Ryan discovers that the letters Alice got from her father are hallucinations.

Ryan promises to let Alice escape if she talks the Mad Hatter out of his plan.

Sophie assists Mary with the surgery.

Mary is able to get around the Mad Hatter's commands by shocking Dr. Hall to death temporarily with a defibrillator, so she can then bring him back once he is technically dead.

The Mad Hatter commands the new doctors, who are all wearing stethoscopes, to strangle themselves with them.

Luke is jumped by the henchman the Mad Hatter is control after his suit locks up again.

Alice is able to get close enough to the Mad Hatter to stab him after he releases the hostages.

Ryan breaks word and recaptures Alice.

Mary gives her original valedictorian speech to her friends in private.

Ryan hits upon the name Batwing for Luke after he says he needs to get the suit fixed or he won't be able to be her wingman anymore.

Ryan tells Sophie she doesn't want to know her mother's name.

Somewhere else in Gotham, a rich woman is informed of a security breach focused on a specific date involving her, rather than her company.

Luke is unable to fix the suit, but triggers a recording of his father's voice.

Mary gets a package from Kate. It contains a personalized white doctor's lab coat with Dr. Mary Hamilton stitched above the pocket.

Rene Montoya uses the Bat-Signal to summon Batwoman.

Rene Montoya knows Ryan's secret identity and has a list of the missing Bat-Trophies thanks to Alice.

Alice has been offered her freedom in exchange for helping to track down the stolen Bat-Trophies.

Rene Montoya gives Ryan a choice - quit being Batwoman or help her to recover all the Bat-Trophies. Ryan chooses to help, despite it meaning she'll have to work with Alice.

The Bottom Line

A solid start to the new season, which sets up a fetch-quest tailor-made to silence the complaints about the show not drawing off the classic Gotham mythology enough.

Legends of Tomorrow: Season 7, Episode 1 - The Bullet Blondes

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

Stranded in Odessa, Texas in 1925 following the destruction of the Waverider, the Legends turn to Astra's magic for a solution. When this creates unwanted attention and brings the full wrath of J. Edgar Hoover and his Bureau of Investigation down on their heads, Sara and Ava create a distraction by going on a crime spree to lead Hoover away from the rest of the team.

Influences

Gangster movies (particularly Bonnie and Clyde)


Performances

Jess Macallan steals the episode, playing an increasingly manic Ava Sharpe trying not to lose it... until she finally does lose it.


Artistry

The costumes for this episode are great examples of period dressing.


Trivia Of Tomorrow

This episode was the first to feature a new title card, without the intensive opening credits teaser of seasons 5 and 6.

Sara claims to be part of the Guggenheim Circus. This is a nod to longtime Arrowverse producer Marc Guggenheim.


Technobabble/Arcana

Time Bureau policy is that all time ships must have a Fail-Safe installed - a black box full of emergency supplies, like back up time couriers and mind flashers. Ava had one installed on the Waverider when it was impounded.

Astra remembers John Constantine's tracking spell and uses it to find the Fail-Safe... in the Sheriff's office.

Rule 44 of the Time Bureau code dictates that should a Time Agent become lost in time and in danger of breaking the timeline, they should pretend to be a circus performer, on the grounds that any weird things caused by time travel can be explained away as being part of a circus, no matter where in time you are.

Gary can cast John Constantine's fire-hands spell, but he can't hold it for very long.

Rule 23 of the Time Bureau code says that stranded Time Agents should stay in one location to limit the potential harm to the timeline.

John Constantine's resurrection ritual is specifically keyed to work on people, not objects.

The key John Constantine gave Zari can be used in any lock to create a portal into a replica of John's mansion. The replica is located in Hell, as Nate discovered when he tried exiting through the front door.


Dialogue Triumphs

Nate: My name's John Edgar Hoover. I'm the newly appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C. (nodding to Ava) This is my trusted secretary, Ms. Gandy.
Sheriff: You seem different in real life.
Nate: You probably saw an old photo. I've been cocktailing my hair products. But that's neither here or there. 

(Ava is flipping through the Time Bureau Manual.)
Ava: There's an answer in here somewhere.
Sara: It's just a book of rules, babe.
Ava: Rules we should be following, okay? We almost ruined Gloria's life, and we almost interacted with Hoover, which means we almost changed history.
Sara: Yeah, but we didn't, huh? Just... Babe. Hey, will you look at me? I know it feels like the walls are closing in, but we will figure this out.
Ava: You keep saying that. Okay, Sara? But we're getting sloppy. And without memory flashers or time couriers or Gideon to guide us, we are lost, okay?
Sara: And you really think that manual will help?

Ava: Probably not, but I just... I need to. Okay?
Sara: Okay. You keep reading.

(Nate has tried pacifying a woman by telling her they're with the Midland Gang. As she sees Sara and Ava inside robbing the bank...)
Woman: Two women? There's no women in the Midland Gang. You can steal money from a bank, fine. But you don't steal somebody's gang name!
Nate: All right, lady, look, we don't have a gang name. Okay?
Woman: Well, gotta have a gang name. It's patriotic! 

Ava: (losing it) The timeline? The timeline is ruined. History is ruined, and we don't even have Gideon here to tell us how badly we've ruined it. That's it. I want to die. (Ava lies down in the middle of the road.) Goodbye. I give up. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. Goodbye! 

(Ava makes orders Gary to eat J. Edgar Hoover's corpse.)
Gary: I swear I take no pleasure in this. Beyond just the taste of human meat, which as you know, I find... quite delicious. 

Astra: So you're just gonna bury the pieces of the Waverider?
Spooner: Well, it ain't gonna bury itself.
Astra: I'm gonna miss the old girl.
Spooner: Really? Astra Logue getting sentimental.
Astra: Look, I'm sorry I brought the cops to your mom's place. I don't blame you for being pissed about it.
Spooner: No, I get it. You were trying to help.
Astra: I wasn't just trying to help you, though. I was trying to prove myself to replace John. I just wanted to show everyone that I was worthy, which I guess I'm not.
Spooner: John? We don't need another John. We need you. Astra, I wasn't mad about the cops. I wasn't happy about them, but I was upset that you almost died. I like having you around. You're like my best friend.
Astra: No one's ever said that to me. But you're mine too.
Spooner: Good. And if anything goes wrong, we'll handle it. I got your back. 


Continuity

The episode picks up immediately where 615 ended, with the sheriff of Odessa handling reports of weird dinosaur creatures roaming the outskirts, metal balls falling from the sky and glowing lights in the sky.

The Legends plan to use a Time Courier to teleport onto the rogue Waverider and attack whoever blew up their ship. Unfortunately, the Time Courier Nate was carrying runs out of power.

Pastor Hanson, a local preacher, stops by Spooner's mother's house to ask if she'd seen anything strange.

The team is unable to use the mind flasher to erase Pastor Hanson's memory because it too is out of power.

Reference is made to 605 and Astra turning the other Legends into household objects.

The team split up to search for the Fail-Safe from the Waverider.

Behrad offers to talk to Zari about what happened with John, noting he has a lot of experience with being dumped.

Zari denies being dumped and says she and John mutually agreed to end their relationship.

Zari tells Behrad about the key John gave her.

Zari decides she needs to reinvent herself to get over John.

Spooner is trained in tracking people and animals through the woods.

Gary and Ava hit upon disguising the Legends as circus performers.

Spooner and Ava refuse to take part in that aspect of the plan, and Spooner puts Ava to work on magically fixing her mom's house.

Gary dresses as a magician, Sara poses as a ring master and Behrad and Zari dress as clowns.

Nate and Ava go to the Sheriff to retrieve the Fail-Safe.

Nate poses as J. Edgar Hoover, who had just become director of the Bureau of Investigation in 1925.

Sara, Gary, Behrad and Zari are able to pacify the people of Odessa by saying the dinosaur aliens were a Komodo dragon and the lights and explosions were new display tricks.

Ava mistakenly says the President is Warren G. Harding when it was Calvin Coolidge at that point in time.

Gary panics when asked when the circus will be opening and says that night.

Sheriff Wood figures out that Nate wasn't the real J. Edgar Hoover after seeing a newspaper article with a photo of J. Edgar Hoover on the front page, which says he's in Texas hunting a notorious gang of bank robbers.

The Fail Safe turns out to be empty, except for a copy of the Time Bureau Manual, an IOU note from Mick Rory saying he was taking the Courier for a beer run and a pack of Behrad's marijuana gummies.

Gloria returns, having heard in town that people were expecting a circus to be set up on her land that night.

Spooner's father was named Celso.

The Legends are fully ready to try and throw together a circus, but Spooner tells them they can't risk endangering her mother.

Astra tries to work John Constantine's resurrection spell on the Waverider wreckage, even though it was designed to work on people, not objects.

J. Edgar Hoover travels to Odessa, after the sheriff calls his office in Washington DC to report someone impersonating him.

Hoover is convinced that the imposter Hoover is part of the Midland Robbery Gang.

Astra passes out trying to cast the spell. The failure of the spell causes an explosion, which gets the attention of J. Edgar Hoover and the sheriff.

Zari uses the key John gave her in the closet door in Gloria's bedroom, when the Legends are forced to hide and J. Edgar Hoover begins searching Gloria's house. This leads them into a replica of John's mansion located in Hell.

Behrad speculates John gave Zari the pocket dimension house because he thought she might need a place to be alone and think.

Zari decides to stay in the house for a while.

While going through the Time Bureau Manual, Ava discovers a section on an obscure scientist who laid the foundation for all of time travel, named Dr. Gwynn Davies, who lived in New York City in 1925.

Ava, Sara, Gary, Nate and Behard steal J. Edgar Hoover's car after tying up Spooner and Gloria, leading J. Edgar Hoover to believe they were unwilling hostages and that the Midland Robbery Gang just escaped.

Ava plans out a bank robbery that will take $93.65, which she determined is the exact amount they need to travel to New York City from Odessa, Texas.

Ava and Sara rob the bank, while Behrad and Nate work crowd control and Gary drives the getaway car.

A sign in the bank gives the date as Thursday the 9th. This corresponds with the calendar of both April and July 1925.

Behrad names their gang the Bullet Blondes after Sara and Ava.

J. Edgar Hoover sets up a barricade, which Nate drives through.

J. Edgar Hoover jumps onto their car and is thrown off. He appears to be dead, but when the Legends crowd around him he draws a gun and tries to shoot Nate, who turns to steel, causing the shot to ricochet and kill Hoover.

Ava has Gary eat J. Edgar Hoover's body.

Astra recovers enough to help Gloria pick vegetables from her garden.

Gloria advises Astra that not every magician does magic in the same way, so she doesn't need to feel shame she can't work a spell just like John Constantine.

Spooner starts burying all the Waverider wreckage.

Spooner and Astra agree that they are one another's best friend.

Astra says the last word of the resurrection spell. This leads to a naked woman suddenly appearing in the field. Spooner and Astra somehow guess this is Gideon, in a human body, before she speaks.


Location

Odessa, Texas - 1925
A pocket dimension in Hell resembling John Constantine's mansion.


The Bottom Line

A heck of a start for the new season.

Supergirl Episode Guide: Season 6, Episode 15 - Hope For Tomorrow

For a summary of the episode guide layout & categories, click here.

Plot

When Nxyly takes William Dey hostage, Kara realizes she must become more proactive in her hunt for the Totems. Meanwhile, Alex faces the biggest challenge of her life, in what becomes a test of the whole team's ability to inspire hope in one young girl.

Influences

Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, Arthurian Legend (the Hope Totem is stuck in a stone), Harry Potter (the magic connection between Kara and Nxyly resembles that between Harry and Voldemort), Marvel's Infinity War (the hunt for the Totems mirrors the search for the Infinity Stones, Nxyly now has a gauntlet to hold the totems) and Dragonball (the idea of magic artifacts that can alter reality that exist on each planet sounds a lot like the Dragonballs)


Goofs

Given that has been shown of Corto Maltese and Kaznia in previous Arrowverse series, it seems unlikely either one would have nuclear weapons or be close enough to each other to get into a war over resources. 

How did Alex have access to a Truth Seeker after the destruction of the DEO? (Perhaps it was in the desert facility?)


Performances

The scene between Chyler Leigh and Azie Tesfa as they discuss how to handle Esme is perhaps the best scene so far between the two actresses and the first time they felt like a real couple in a long time.


Artistry

The special effects work is quite good.


Super Trivia

The basic plot of this episode (and several story elements) were taken from the movie Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. These include the threat of a nuclear war, the hero needing to appeal to a worried child and nuclear missiles being thrown into the sun.

Mitch makes mention of an alien race called the Almeraci. This may be a reference to the world of Almerac, which is a technologically advanced society with a proud warrior tradition. The heroine Maxima was the Queen of Almerac.

Esme is identified as a Dyralian. This is a unique alien species created for the Arrowverse, not to be confused with the Dyrilans, who are a orange-skinned race.


Technobabble

Mitch modifies a gauntlet he says Naxim took from an Almeraci that was designed to absorb and repel energy to hold the Courage Totem. Affixed to the magic-draining cuff, it allows Nyxyly to use her magic somewhat and channel the power of Courage.

The security system in the Watchtower scans every available public camera worldwide.

While Brainiac-5's computer is capable of processing billions of bits per data every second, he is still beholden to 21st century upload/download speeds.

Esme's alien race is identified as Dyralian. Brainiac-5 confirms they have the ability to mimic the special abilities of other alien races. This includes alien animals, like a Truth Seeker.

Brainiac-5 makes reference to the Winathians, saying they have the ability to nullify gravity. In the comics, this was only true of the Legionnaire Ayla Ranzz (aka Lightning Lass), whose powers were altered by an experiment conducted by Dream Girl. Most Winathians had the power to generate electricity.

Lena tries to modify a charm so that it will protect the Humanity Totem from outside magical influences.

Dyralians can recognize other aliens if they have encountered someone with the same powers before. This leads Esme to recognize Kara in her Supergirl costume, because Kara had the same powers as Supergirl.


Dialogue Triumphs

(Brainiac-5 has been tasked with helping Esme learn to control her powers.)
Brainiac-5: (To Esme) Lucky for you, I used to be old friends with a Dyralian. This one time, the Dyralian and I were socializing with a Winathian friend of ours, and the Dyralian unknowingly taps into the Winathian's ability to de-power the gravity in the room. It took us three hours to get down from the ceiling.
Esme: (chuckling) He's funny.
Brainiac-5: (walking away with Esme) Tell me, how familiar are you with Coluan quantum mechanics? Hmm? Have you been trained in hand-to-hand combat? 

J'onn: With all due respect, Secretary, you're dealing with a magical energy source. My psychic abilities can keep things calm. Besides, if she comes back, I'm the best defense you'll have.
Secretary of State: Fine. Just don't get in my way. And change into something, so you don't upstage me.

Kara: I don't know what I'm gonna do. When I accessed the Totem's gauntlet at The Hague, it said I needed to inspire a hope that burns longer and brighter than the sun. But it didn't give me a starting point like last time, and I can't afford to try and fail. I mean, you saw how bad things got when I didn't pass the Courage gauntlet. I try to provide people with hope all the time. What can I do differently now?
Lena: On the bright side, if it's a race between you and Nyxly to provide hope for a Hope Totem, I know where my money is going.

Kara: It was awful. The look on Esme's face, the fear in her eyes only hearing this... frightening, horrible stuff. (sighs) If I can't help inspire hope in one little girl, how am I supposed to do it for the whole world and pass the Hope gauntlet? And this world? How is any of this hopeful?
Lena: Things escalating at The Hague, maybe you should just wipe those countries of their nuclear weapons. That'll bring out lasting peace and hope.
Kara: I wish I could, but unfortunately, I am forbidden from interfering in human history.
Lena: Weren't you the person that convinced me to use magic to make people just a little bit violent in order to draw out Nyxly and the Humanity Totem?
Kara: Yeah, but that was different. That was in pursuit of stopping a villain. And it was temporary. Unilaterally changing the world stage, getting involved at that level, that is not for me to do. People, nations should be self-determining, that's freedom. That's what we're fighting for. 

Alex: I really screwed up, Kelly. When Kara's powers overwhelmed Esme, I should have realized that she needed a break, but I just kept pushing her to keep going. It was like these instincts took over, and all of a sudden I'm acting more like a DEO drill sergeant than I am a mother. And it was exactly the wrong thing to do. Growing up, my mom with Kara, she was so kind and understanding, and it was exactly the mom that Kara needed. And that's everything that I want to be.
Kelly: You're being really hard on yourself. Your mom and Kara fought all the time. You even told me that once Kara got so angry with Eliza that she almost burned the house down with her heat vision.
Alex: Kara was a teenager, okay, not some innocent little ball of cuteness.
Kelly: My point is, they worked it out and Kara thrived. And even your mother needed that grace period. So cut yourself some slack. And this morning, when Esme was scared, I wanted it to be about her powers because that would have been an easier fix. But it's not about that. It's us.
Alex: Okay, so I was right.
Kelly: No. (sighs) She just told me that she thinks it's best if we take her back. And it wasn't because you pushed her. I think she is terrified of getting close to us because she thinks we're gonna abandon her like everyone else did. And I'm a therapist. I should have realized that this morning.
Alex: Mmm-mmm. I just... I want to do better for Esme.
Kelly: I know you do.
Alex: I just wish we could make her see that.
Kelly: We can figure this out. We just got to figure out a way to get her to see the truth.
Alex: (thoughtfully) The truth... 

Continuity

This episode takes place three days after the events of 614. (This is revealed when Brainiac-5 detects Nxyly's first trip to The Hague.)

As the episode opens, Kara, Kelly, Alex and J'onn are setting up a room in Kelly and Alex's home for Esme, whom Kelly and Alex are fostering for six months before their petition to adopt her is approved.

Alex paints a guardian spirit, resembling a Martian, on the wall of Esme's bedroom, as part of a mural representing hopes and dreams. J'onn says his father painted something similar in his daughter's room.

Kara retrieved all the stuffed animals and blankets she was given by Eliza Danvers when she first came to Earth.

Esme has a stuffed zebra named Lovey.

Kara tells Esme that she's adopted too.

Esme accidentally phases through the wall after accidentally mimicking J'onn's powers.

Esme is immediately scared she'll be sent back to the group home for using her powers.

Nyxyly reads William Dey's story about her.

Mitch creates a gauntlet which can hold the Courage Totem, allowing Nyxyly to tap its energy and regain some of her power.

William prepares chocolate roulade, Jaffa cakes and hobnobs as gifts for Esme. He says the hobnobs are his Aunt Millicent's specialty.

Brainiac-5 intends to get Esme a building blocks set, but is uncertain whether or not to get the castle, theme park or train set. He is told to get the train set.

Brainiac-5 still hasn't found Nxyly using his scanners and reports that Nia hasn't had any luck finding the Dream Totem using her powers or doing research in the town of Parthas.

Brainiac-5 detects footage of Nxyly trying to enter The Hague in 614 and says it came from three days earlier. Coincidentally, the cameras catch her trying to enter the museum at the same time.

Kara and J'onn are able to chase Nxyly away, but not before she drains the courage from the lead diplomats for the delegations from Kaznia and Corto Maltese that are meeting at The Hague for a peace conference.

Esme is brought to the Watchtower and introduced to William, Lena and Brainiac-5.

Brainiac-5 says that one of his friends is a Dyralian and that he once accidentally got stuck on a ceiling for three hours after his friend accidentally replicated the gravity-nullifying powers of a Winathian.

Kara tries to activate the Hope Totem, which is a sculpture called The Hand of the Flower which was carved out of a throne said to belong to Elpis, the Green goddess of Hope.

The gauntlet of Hope is to "inspire a hope that burns longer and brighter than the sun."

Kara is unable to pull the statue out of the rock holding it.

Corto Maltese built an artificial island in the Kaznian Sea without permission to drill for oil. This has led to a conflict which the United States is attempting to resolve.

Thanks to the Totem of Courage draining their courage, the diplomats are distrustful and paranoid, which is hurting the peace talks.

J'onn agrees to stay at The Hague and use his psychic powers to pacify the diplomats and guard the Hope Totem until Kara can pass the gauntlet.

Esme becomes overwhelmed trying to emulate Brainiac-5's intelligence and solve the Coluan equivalent of Einstein's theory of relativity.

Alex introduces Kara as Supergirl to Esme, but Esme recognizes her as Kara because she has the same powers Kara did earlier.

Esme once again becomes afraid she did something wrong after Alex tells her how important it is to keep Kara's secret identity.

Esme tries to copy Kara's super-hearing, but becomes scared by the loud noises. She says Alex is horrible for making her try to listen to the bad things she heard. (i.e. sirens, gun fire, people screaming.)

Nyxly decides to wait for Supergirl to pass the gauntlet for the Hope Totem and steal it from her once it is activated. 

Nxyly decides to kidnap William and trade him for the Hope Totem.

The US Secretary of State, a woman with the last name Brown, asks J'onn to use his telepathy to make the diplomats sign a peace agreement. He refuses to do so.

Lena asks why Kara just can't get rid of all the nuclear weapons in the world. Kara says she's forbidden from interfering in human history and that kind of abuse of power is exactly what she tries to fight against.

Kara senses that Nxyly is happy.

Kara has the idea that maybe she should try and pass the gauntlet as Kara rather than as Supergirl and use her reporting to inspire people.

Alex is afraid she's driven Esme away trying to help her work through her powers.

Kelly says Alex needs to cut herself some slack and that they will work through this together.

Kara writes an upbeat story on everything Martian Manhunter is doing to help with the peace talks. Andrea rejects it because she only wants William writing about the Super Friends (for some reason) and she doesn't believe the world is good.

Nxyly shows up at CatCo and kidnaps William, telling them to report that she will kill William if Supergirl doesn't bring her the Hope and Humanity Totems before sunset.

Kara tries to save cats from trees and people from crime and flies all over Corto Maltese and Kaznia telling people she will protect them, but this still does not enable her to claim the Hope Totem.

Lena gets her protective charm to work, but it's very short-term.

Alex and Kelly show Esme a Truth Seeker and, once she copies its power, they promise to never abandon her.  They also reveal that they are Sentinel and Guardian.

Kara plans to remove all the nuclear missiles from Kaznia and Corto Maltese, after deciding that since the nuclear war was caused by Nxyly's manipulation of the Courage Totem, she's justified in acting this time.

With Brainiac-5 and Martian Manhunter helping, Kara stops all the missiles and throws them into the sun.

Kara retrieves the Hope Totem and goes to meet with Nxyly.

During the meeting, William trips Nxyly and steals the Courage Totem.

The psychic connection between Kara and Nxyly is erased.

The Super Friends discuss destroying the Totems so Nxyly can't use them. However, it is pointed out there's no way of knowing what effects that could have given all the damage done by the Courage Totem being broken. In the end, Kara decides to throw the Hope Totem into the sun.

Esme feels much better and tells Alex and Kelly she loves her new room.

Nxyly figures out what Kara has done with the Hope Totem through her crystal ball and despairs, Suddenly, a portal opens and a package containing a watch drops through the hole. The watch has a note telling Nxyly not to lose hope, which came from "A secret admirer." 

When Nxyly puts the watch on, a Lexo-Suit forms around her. This suggests her secret admirer is Lex Luthor.

Location

The Hague
Kaznia


Untelevised Adventures

Alex and Kelly were given provisional custody of Esme following an emergency hearing between episodes.

Nia visits the town of Parthas as part of her search for the Dream Totem.


The Bottom Line

A surprisingly good story which improves on the plot of Superman IV on every level and gets political without being preachy.

Starman Plays Quest For Glory 4, The Thief Path - Part 1

In which we find ourselves in the cursed land of Mordavia in an equally cursed cave. Luckily we have the sonorous voice of John Rhys-Davies to accompany us, as we try to get out of this place and to someplace where we can start stealing things again.

Fallout: New Vegas - I Am The Doctor II - Part 33

In which we finally complete the Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Caps quest and start hunt down the last of Willow's collectibles.

SPOILER: The prize we get for the one is not as good as what we get for the other. But they're both better than the Pimp Boy upgrade we get from Mick and Ralph.